Good morning. I’m off for my next leg to Lugu Lake today. Here is what the road book of today tells me:
Today’s road book briefing (June 8, 2026):
8-Jun-26 (Monday)
• Date / Day: 8-Jun-26 (Monday)
• Distance: 231 km
• Route: Lijiang → Lugu Lake
Field Briefing
* Segment: C1-6
* Midpoint/Lunch: Lake Viewpoint
* Start: Lijiang
* Target Arrival: Lugu Lake (Aiming for 16:00–18:00 local time)
* Driving/Stops: Plan for ~7-8 hours total (including fuel/photo stops).
Deep Dive: The Path to Lugu Lake
You are heading from the urban history of Lijiang toward the high-altitude serenity of Lugu Lake.
* Historical Context: Lugu Lake sits at the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Historically, this region was a key corridor for the “Tea Horse Road,” but it remained relatively isolated due to the rugged terrain.
Culture: Lugu Lake is famously the home of the Mosuo people. They are one of the last matrilineal societies in the world, practicing a tradition of “walking marriages” (tisese*), where couples do not cohabit but instead maintain separate living arrangements, with the maternal household remaining the center of family life.
* Scenic Highlight: The drive involves leaving the valley and entering the high-plateau landscape. Keep an eye on your revs as you ascend into the alpine region surrounding the lake.
Navigation & Redundancy
* Google Maps: Lugu Lake
* OSM / OSMAnd: Ensure your offline maps for Yunnan/Sichuan borders are active.
* Kurviger: Plan your route to Lugu Lake to ensure you are prioritizing motorcycle-appropriate roads over congested provincial routes.
Expedition Logistics
* Checkpoints: As you approach the provincial border between Yunnan and Sichuan, stay alert for secondary military or police checkpoints commonly found on routes connecting these regions. Keep your passport and localized translations ready.
* Elevation: Be mindful that Lugu Lake sits at ~2,700m. If you feel any altitude-related symptoms, keep your hydration high and rest.
Safe ride, Carsten.
I made it to Lugu Lake. As the weather was really promising, I decided to take the mountain road and I can not say I was disappointed. It was a well built two lane federal road with some hair rising switch backs, I mean tight switchbacks of 190° . As described, there was plenty of rock fall and landslides, but no drama.
Lulu Lake is a picturesque valley lake, surrounded by high mountains, reaching 3,000 m and more. The hotel is a real gem, the rooms are absolutely marvelous with all comfort and facility, including a 3 m screen for watching your movies.
Will go to the lake and walk a bit to get used to the altitude (2,400 m) as it goes higher and higher next week.
The hotel is a bit isolated, but they drive me to the next little (tourist) village with a wide variety of restaurants and shops. Like so often, most restaurants catering for family and groups with hot pot and Table bbq, etc. found a small friendly looking side road restaurant with local food. Will see how it all works out. I can also attest, it is absolutely low season with barely any tourists and can see a good number of restaurants populated by locals, judging from their costumes.
The owner of the Restaurant has a favour for flowers
It also looks like there is only one other family staying at the hotel. It is really a well designed hotel with the best rooms I have been to so far. The driver confirmed, that during the high season it is more busy.
Tomorrow to Xichang. While it is only 250 km, the navigation predicts a 6 hour drive. So better I get a good sleep and start early enough. I also guess, it’s time to wear some extra layers as I can imagine it will be quite fresh tomorrow morning.
Leave a Reply